The Other Prince Charming
by Sunshine Anderson
Summary: AU Hikari falls in love with the perfect stranger, but when a coma brings them toghether, she suddenly falls for his brother!
1. Tragedy Strikes

Woooo, Sunshine is writing crappy stories again! I've had cheerleading and dance, and I am busy. It's been stressing me out so I came home sick today. I'll try to be more consistent in my updates. I got this story idea from "While You Were Sleeping," so yeah. Okay, enjoy!  
  
  
Okay, there are two things I remember about my childhood. First, I remember being with my dad. He would get these far off looks in his eye and say "Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan." I just wish I realized at the time he was talking about my life. But that never stopped us from taking our adventures together. He would pack up our sometimes-working-car and he would tell me amazing stories about strange and exotic lands as we headed off to exciting destinations like . . . Tokyo. It's amazing how exciting Japan isn't. But my favorite memories were the stories he would tell me about my mom. He would take me to the church were they got married, and I'd beg him to tell me more about the ceremony and his crazy uncle who fell asleep in the macaroni and cheese, and I asked my dad when he knew he truly loved my mom, and he said "Hikari, your mother gave me a special gift. She gave me the world." Actually it was a globe with a light in it, but for the romantic daddy was, it might as well been the world.  
  
Well the first time I saw "him," he didn't exactly give me the world, it was a $1.50 subway token. But I looked forward to it, every single day. He started coming to my booth between 8:01 and 8:15 every morning, Monday through Friday and he was just . . . perfect. My prince charming. We've never actually spoken, but I know someday we will. I know it, and I just know that someday I'll introduce myself and it will be . . . perfect.  
  
  
"Ugh, $45 for a Christmas tree and they don't deliver?! You order $10 worth of Chow Mein from Mr. Won's, and they bring it to your door" I yell. My cat just sits there and stares at me with wide eyes.  
  
"Ugh" I grunt again as I pull on the rope with the Christmas tree on the other end.  
  
"Ooh, I should've gotten the Blue Spruce, they're lighter" I say. I take two steps back and suddenly slip on a cord. I lose the grip of the rope and two seconds later hear a sound ok glass breaking.  
  
"Hikari" my male neighbor shouts.  
  
  
"Nature of claim, Christmas tree through window" my neighbor states with an accent. He is middle aged with bushy, grey hair, a mustache, and glasses. He is wearing a button down shirt with a grey sweater. "How am I gonna put that on my insurance? They're still pissed about the fire we had when Joe Jr. barbecued on the stairwell."   
  
"I missed that one" I say. I turn to look at the window. It looks horrible.  
  
"Oh, great sausage" my neighbor says sarcastically.  
  
"Look, I'll pay for this" I offer.  
  
"That's okay Hikari, my brother Taisuke is in the glass business," then he chuckles.  
  
"Oh I almost forgot," I pull out a gift from my pale blue sweater sleeve. "Merry Christmas" I say as I hand the gift to Joe.  
  
"Oh, Hikari," he stands up and looks at me. "You didn't have to do that."  
  
"Well I wanted to" I say.  
  
"I haven't even gotten to my shopping yet."  
  
"Hey Pops" someone says. It startled me. Then an overweight man walks into the room wearing a tight fitting white T-shirt that's way too small and baggy jeans. He has a gold chain with a "J" on it. "Can I get that bottle of wine you got from cousin what's-his face for the probation officer?"  
  
"Don't you see we have company?" Joe tells his rude son. "Say hello."  
  
"Hello Kari"He says. Kari? Nobody calls me my nickname. I just nod my head and try not to laugh at how stupid he looks. "That's a nice, uhhh . . . " I look at him and try to figure out what he's trying to say. "Sweater" he eventually says.  
  
I nod and say "Thank you" with a fake smile.  
  
"Over There" Joe Jr's father points. Joe Jr. walks over to the cabinet in a way to impress me. He looks ridiculous.  
  
"You're a nice girl Hikari. You know Joe Jr's still single" Joe says.  
  
I look at Joe Jr, and he was squatting, with part of his butt crack showing.  
  
"Yeah, it's a shocker" I reply.  
  
  
I watch the hot dog man grab my hot dog with his little clippers and put it in a bun. "What will you have?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, the usual" I say, and start reading my newspaper again.  
  
"What's that?" he asked. Obviously he didn't remember me from yesterday.  
  
"You know, mustard, coke." I go back to reading my paper.  
  
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari" my boss chants. He wears his favorite grey coat with his read and green plaid scarf.  
  
"Jerry!" I say. He had to be the best boss I've ever had.  
  
"I'm glad to find you here" he says as he pulls something out of his coat.  
  
"I was hoping you'd find me in Bermuda."  
  
"Ah Bermuda, that's good. Hey, I am recommending you for employee of the month!" he says to me. My eyes widen. "The usual" Jerry told the hot dog guy. He nodded.  
  
"Really? I didn't know there was an employee of the month"  
  
"Ooh well" Jerry took out his letter, and his glasses. "Supervisor Wallace Jerry nominated Yagami Hikari for employee of the month. Hikari is never tardy and always works holidays even if she's worked the previous holiday. Just because she worked Thanksgiving, she's willing to work . . . " his voice softened. "Christmas too?"  
  
"Jerry, I'm not workin' Christmas" I say. Then I start walking toward the street.  
  
"But you get a nice plaque with the mayor's stamp on it" he argued while following me.  
  
"I didn't vote" I stated flatly.  
  
"You get to ride on a float on the next holiday!"  
  
"I hate parades."  
  
"Did I mention extra holiday pay?"  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"Hikari?!" he begs. He stopped me by blocking my way to the street. I started listening.  
  
"Look, Naomi's sick and Celeste can't switch because she's got some big family thing, and I promised my kids I'd be there for them this year."  
  
"This sucks, Jerry."  
  
"I know it isn't fair, and I can't make you do it, but you're the only one."  
  
"The only one without family?"  
  
  
So I'm here on another Christmas, watching happy families board the subways. I wish I had my dad. But then out of the corner of my eye, there's my prince charming. All of the sudden, I think it's going to be a Merry Christmas after all.  
  
"Hi" he says while giving me his token. "Merry Christmas."  
  
"I, uh" I stumble, but it's too late. He's gone. I start hitting my head because now, I am officially an idiot.  
  
"Nice coat, Merry Christmas to you too, you're beautiful, will you marry me? I love you . . . " Then I slam my head on my counter.  
  
I see him on the platform, and I see three guys dressed in black talking to him. Curious to figure out what was going on, I watch closely. They flip his scarf around his neck, then take it away from him. Then they push him off the platform.  
  
I run as fast as I could to him.  
  
"Could somebody help me, please?" I yell. No one was in sight or earshot. I kneeled on the platform. "Sir? Sir? Sir are you okay?" He isn't okay. This was not good. I jump onto the tracks, and check his pulse rate and breathing. "Oh, you smell nice" I rant.  
  
"Please wake up, please" I beg as I stroke his hair. Then I hear a horn.  
  
The train was coming, I could see the two large headlights. 


	2. Fiancé?

Hey! I'm "sick" today so I decided to go on with chapter 2.  
  
"Oh god" I say. Here comes the train, and we're dead in its path.  
  
"Wake up!" I nudge again. But nothing. I yell "Somebody help me please," but nobody.  
  
"Mister? Mister?!" I pull on his coat. "There's a train coming and it's fast, it's an express," I was running out of time.  
  
"Oh god." The train is ten feet away now. I had to do something. I grabbed him and rolled over to the concrete next to the tracks.  
  
And it hits me. The train had stopped and we are alive. Well, at least I am.   
  
He flutters his eyes open."Hi" I whisper. Then his beautiful blue eyes close again.  
  
I rush into the hospital, looking for him. It looks more like total chaos than a hospital. I finally find a nurse.  
  
"Hi, uh, about two seconds ago a man was brought in" I say, quickly.   
  
"Okay, what was his name?" the nurse asks. She was short with a white nurse uniform and a brown sweater and had short brown hair.  
  
"I-I don't know" I reply.  
  
"I need to know his name Miss" she tells me.  
  
Then I see him being brought into a room with clear sliding doors. He had tubes and bandages from head to toe. I start walking to the room where my future husband is. But suddenly, I get stopped by a doctor.  
  
"Woah, Woah, Woah! You can't go in there!" he says.  
  
"No, no, no, you don't understand"  
  
"No, are you family" he interrogates with a snarl.  
  
"No," I answer.  
  
"Family only" he states.  
  
"No, you don't understand because"  
  
"You wait over there" he says as he points to a chair. All I can do is watch hopelessly and hope he's okay. Was this my fault? If I talked to him for a while back at the subway station, would he still be well and healthy?  
  
"I was supposed to marry him" I mumble. This was unfair.  
  
  
I walk into his room, and hear all sorts of machines beep. All he has now is a small bandage on his head and one tube, such a different image from before. I take a seat next to his bed in an uncomfortable chair, but that didn't matter now. All that mattered was that he was going to make it.  
  
"Let him hear your voice" The red head nurse says.  
  
"Ok," I whisper back. Then the nurse departs the room slowly.  
  
I look the room over a couple times. I see a small TV in the corner, a table with a remote on it and all sorts of machines. Then I focus on the best part of the room. Him. He looks perfect with his silky golden blonde hair.  
  
"Hi" I say, sweetly. "Everything's gonna be fine." I hope that's true, so I can have a chance to get to know him and a chance to love him. I talk to him some more and I notice the red head nurse was talking to a police officer outside the window. The officer walks into the room, and I feel a little scared.  
  
"Excuse me ma'am" he says as he takes his hat off. "I'm gonna need to ask you a few questions."   
  
"Ok," I say softly, noticing the officer's bald spot. I hope he doesn't think I pushed him off the platform.  
  
"Excuse me officer, " a doctor says while coming into the room. He was much older than the officer and had a bald spot as well. "May I interrupt you?"  
  
"Oh sure, I'll be right over there" The officer says as he exits the room.  
  
"Thank you" the doctor replies. Everyone seems so polite around here.  
  
"Hi, I'm Dr. Brown" he says as he puts his hand out for me to shake.  
  
"I'm Hikari-"  
  
"Where the hell is he?" an angry middle-aged man shouts from the hall.  
  
"Dad, don't embarrass me" his teenage daughter says. He has about four other people behind him.  
  
"Ooh, he's so pale" a woman about the man's age with brown says. She looks like the man's wife, but she doesn't act like she loved him. Then the two senior citizens who had been quiet join in the conversation, and all of them start talking at once, it is equivalent to chaos. They crowd around the bed, and I step back, hoping to go unnoticed.  
  
"You can't come bursting into this unit" Dr. Brown says.  
  
"He'll be all right, right?" the middle-aged woman asks.  
  
"What happened? What's going on?" the middle-aged man wonders.  
  
"He's in a coma" Dr. Brown states.  
  
"On Christmas day?" The woman questions. Then she breaks down and cries.  
  
"His vital signs are strong, his brain waves are good, I think he's gonna get through this" Dr. Brown comments. The whole family sighs with relief.  
  
"Are you a specialist" the older man asks.  
  
"How did this happen?" the middle aged woman asks.  
  
"Um, he was pushed from the platform at the subway station" I say softly. The whole room turns to look at me. I wasn't used to the attention so I looked down at the floor.  
  
"Who's she?" The middle-aged man asks.  
  
"She's his fianceé" the red head nurse states.  
  
  
Yeah, kinda short. But maybe if I leave cliffhangers, somebody will read this. Be my friend, and click that button in the lower left hand corner? Much love, |SuNSHiNe| 


	3. Impossible

Author Note: PLEASE READ! Some changes in this chapter! From now on, this story will be told from third person POV. Second, I'm gonna give you the family names because if I say "The middle aged man says" again, I will puke. The middle-aged man is Mr. Ishida, the middle-aged woman is Nancy Takaishi, The senior citizen male is Sal, who is Lucie's husband and Takeru/Yamato's godfather. The teenage girl is Lacey and is Yamato and Takeru's half sister. Last, I'm telling this story in past tense. Present tense irks me. Ok, on with the story! P.S., sorry for the total lackness of Japanese names!  
  
  
"His fianceé?" Nancy asked in shock. Nobody knew that Yamato had a fianceé, much less a girlfriend.  
  
Hikari stood with a puzzled look on her face. Where did the nurse get the idea? All she knew was she had to set it straight.  
  
"Yeah" The red head acknowledged. "She's his fianceé."  
  
"Yamato has a fianceé?" Lucie asked with a confused expression. By now everyone was talking all at once and there was plenty of commotion in the tiny hospital room.  
  
"N-N-N-N-No, you don't understand-" Hikari started.  
  
"Maybe he was busy" Lucy suggested, clutching her purse tighter.  
  
"What? Too busy to tell his father he's getting married? Mr. Ishida yelled.  
  
"Don't yell at him" Nancy scolded.   
  
"I wasn't yelling," Mr. Ishida argued.  
  
Hikari buried her head in her arms. "How could this be happening?" she mumbled to herself.  
  
"If only Takeru were here" Mr. Ishida wondered.  
  
Lucie sat down in a nearby chair. She grabbed her chest and breathed heavily.  
  
"Grandma?" Lacey asked.  
  
"Is she gonna be ok?" Dr. Brown questioned.  
  
"Oh, it's just a little heart problem," Sal said. "She's had three attacks already!"  
  
Hikari knew she couldn't tell the family right then. Poor Lucie would have an attack!  
  
"They weren't attacks," Lucie objected. "They were episodes."  
  
"Nothin's wrong with her hearing" Sal mumbled. Lucie gave him an icy glare.  
  
"Doctor, what is she doing in here?" a doctor who had just come in the room asked. He was the same doctor who prevented Hikari from seeing her prince charming when he first got into the hospital. She knew she was in trouble now.  
  
"Hey Bobby, she saved his life," the police officer said.  
  
"You saved his life?" Nancy said with amazement.  
  
"Yeah, yeah but I-." Hikari got interrupted.  
  
"I thought he was pushed off a subway platform" Mr. Ishida said.  
  
"She jumped on the tracks" the police officer added. Hikari sort of grinned at her courageous act.  
  
"You jumped the tracks?!" Sal asked. His eyes widened.  
  
"Doctor, it's supposed to be family only" Bobby urged. Bobby still hasn't removed the stick up his butt yet.  
  
Mr. Ishida pushed Bobby aside with one arm. "She is family" he firmly stated. Bobby just stood there, confused. He thought they couldn't be related because Hikari didn't look anything like the blonde-haired, blue eyes bunch.  
  
"She's the fianceé you idiot" Dr. Brown told Bobby.  
  
"Ok, I'm sorry you must understand-" Hikari started to confess.  
  
"You see we didn't see him for a long time and we didn't know. I always wanted him to find a nice girl." Nancy's voice cracked. "I'm so glad he found you!" Nancy broke into tears of joy, and hugged Hikari tightly. Lacey hugged Hikari also, and she patted them on the back.  
  
"Uh Oh" Hikari thought.  
  
  
Hikari pulled the red head nurse's arm, and dragged her out of the room.  
  
"Why did you say that, Sarah?" Hikari asked.  
  
"Say what?" Sarah asked back. She had no clue . . .   
  
"I'm not his fianceé" Hikari answered, lowering her voice so the people around her didn't think this was a scene from "Days of Our Lives."  
  
"Then why did you tell me that you were?" Sarah interrogated, while matching Hikari's tone.  
  
"I'm not engaged. I've never even spoken to the guy!"  
  
"What?! But downstairs, you said you were gonna marry him!"  
  
"Oh geez, I was talking to myself."  
  
"Well next time you're talking to yourself, tell yourself you're single and end the conversation" Sarah advised.  
  
"What am I gonna do?" Hikari sighed.  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"She held me so tight, I-I just couldn't tell her."  
  
"I know, I know" Sarah comforted.  
  
"Excuse me, nurse" Sal said behind Hikari. Hikari quickly put her hand over her mouth. "Is there a pharmacy in the hospital?"  
  
"Um, what do you need?" Sarah asked with a smile.  
  
"It's Lucie, she wants asprin" Sal replied.  
  
"Oh for her heart problem?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Problem? More like problems" Sal said with a trusting grin. He seemed charming for someone his age. "You know something," Sal continued as he turned to me. " I think you saved her life. In fact, I think you saved the whole family. Bless you, Hikari."  
  
"Uh right this way, Sir" Sarah said, and leaded Sal toward the elevator.  
  
"Dammit," Hikari thought to herself. 


	4. Overheard Apologies

Dude, I just realized Joe Jr reminds me of Daisuke! Except heavier, and surprisingly less attractive. Ok, just read my story now.  
  
Disclaimer: I forgot to do one of these. o_o. I don't own Digimon.  
  
  
So there they were. Sitting in the hospital's lounge room. For a while, there was total silence, and everyone just stared at each other. Sal sat by Lucie on one love seat, Nancy and Lacey sat on the sofa. Hikari sat in a chair, and since there were no seats left, Mr. Ishida stood, and made minor movements.  
  
Hikari knew everyone was thinking about her. She grinned, but she knew she had to get herself out of this mess. She played with her fingers, nervous about what the outcome would be if she fooled the family and married Yamato. He couldn't be that bed, right? Aside from not keeping in touch with his parents, he was lovely. She found herself falling in love all over again.  
  
"So," Lucie said, breaking the silence. "Tell me how you met Yamato." Hikari hesitated, she had to lie again.  
  
"Ma, she doesn't want to talk about that now, okay?" Nancy suggested.  
  
"Well we could all use a nice story" Lucie said.   
  
"How do you know it was nice?" Sal asked.  
  
"Of course it was nice, why shouldn't it be nice?" Lucie objected.  
  
"What about that other girl, what's her name? The one he met in the bar?" Sal asked as he changed the subject.  
  
"What's that got to do with the price of eggs?" Lucie wondered.  
  
"Ashley Bartlett Bacon" Mr. Ishida answered. "All I know is that she's pretty high and mighty for someone named after breakfast meat."  
  
"Well, he has a nice girl now" Nancy complimented. Hikari beamed.  
  
"Did you steal him from Ashley?" Lacey asked.  
  
"I bet it was love at first sight, right?" Lucie asked. "I have a sense about these things."  
  
"Lucie, let her tell it" Sal argued.  
  
"She is telling it! I bet he picked you up in that fancy car of his" Lucie added.  
  
"What was it about him that struck you?" Nancy asked.  
  
"It was his uh, smile" Hikari lied while smiling.  
  
"They're caps" Mr. Ishida added. "60000 yen a tooth." Lucie gave him a signal to be quiet. Mr. Ishida just shrugged.  
  
"Well, um, we saw each other," Hikari started, slowly. "And he smiled and I knew that my life would never be the same." Lucie sighed in awe, and Hikari just sat there and realized the terrible thing she just did.  
  
  
  
Hikari walked up the narrow stairway leading to her apartment. She finally left the hospital, after spending most of her day there. She was bundled up in a grey coat, silver scarf, and a matching wool hat. Joe Jr walked the opposite way in his trademark ensemble. A black tank top that was way too small, an oversized silver and black sweater, left unbuttoned, and khaki slacks with his fake gold chain that said "J."  
  
"Tomorrow night, 8 o'clock" Joe Jr said.  
  
Hikari turned to him, and stopped walking. "What?" she asked.  
  
Joe Jr reached into his pocket, and pulled out two golden yellow tickets. "I got ice capades." Joe Jr said in his regular accent. "I know a guy."  
  
Hikari nodded, disgusted at the thought of going anywhere with Joe Jr. She continued walking up the stairs to her apartment to finish her dramatic Christmas.  
  
  
2 o'clock AM, December 26, and she still was restless. She needed to see Yamato. She quickly got dressed and boarded the subway.  
  
As she walked through the hospital, she realized it was a much different place since the last time she had been there. It was very quiet and nearly empty. In fact, all of Tokyo seemed peaceful at these hours. She finally reached his room, and stood next to the door.  
  
"Hi" she whispered, looking at his innocent face. She smiled a little because he was so gorgeous. She walked a little closer to the bed.  
  
"Um, bet you're wondering what I'm doing here in the middle of the night, aren't you? Well, I thought I should introduce myself. My name's Hikari, Yagami Hikari. I think you should know that you're family thinks we're engaged. I've never been engaged before, this is all very sudden for me." Hikari let out a long sigh. "What I really came here to tell you was that I didn't mean for this to happen. I don't know what to do! If you were awake, I wouldn't be in this mess. Not that I'm blaming you, I'm sorry. It's just that when I was a kid I always imagined what my life would be like," she said as she walked closer to sit in a chair. "You know, normal stuff that a girl would dream like I'd have a house and a family. Not that I'm complaining though, because I have a cat, an apartment, and most importantly sole possession of the remote control. Its just that, I've never met anyone I could laugh with . . . Do you believe in love at first sight? Yeah, I bet you're too sensible for that. Or have you ever, like, seen somebody and you knew that if only that person really knew you, they would of course dump the perfect model they were with, and realize that you were the one that they wanted to grow old with." Hikari paused. "Have you ever fallen in love with somebody you've never talked to? Have you ever been so alone you spend the night thinking about a man in a coma?" A tear fell down her cheek. She looked down at the perfect stranger.  
  
Sal was outside of the room, and overheard all of what Hikari said. 


	5. December 26

Hey! Happy Turkey Day! Or should I say Happy Anorexic Girl's Worst Nightmare Day! I'm stuffed. I need a crane to pick me up. I'm gonna try and make this chapter kinda long (long-longer than my other chapters by like a paragraph) this time, MAD props to the wonderful people who reviewed! Shutting up now . . .   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or the nifty characters. Bummer . . .   
  
  
  
It was a new day in Tokyo. The sun had already peered out from the horizon and the day got off to a start. Cars raced the streets again, people strolled down the crowded sidewalks, and shoppers tried to catch the "lowest prices of the season" at the After Christmas sales.   
  
Hikari woke up and found herself in the hospital, with the same black sweater and blue jeans on. Her hair though, was another story. Pieces flew every which way. One thing that was in place was Yamato. He hadn't moved a muscle.  
  
Hikari shot up, finally realizing where she was. She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her cheap watch Celeste got her for Christmas.  
  
7:26  
  
Hikari panicked. She was supposed to be at work by eight. She grabbed her coat and slung her purse over her shoulder while standing up. She turned around to face the beautiful blonde-haired man.   
  
"Bye" she whispered and walked toward the door until . . .   
  
"Hikari!" Nancy exclaimed. "We didn't know you were here!" Behind her was the whole family - Lucie, Sal, Lacey, and Mr. Ishida.  
  
"Hi" Hikari said softly. "Oh man I'm gonna be late . . . " she thought.  
  
"Hi" Mr. Ishida replied as softly as Hikari's tone. That was much different from his loud, noisy self. "Were you here all night?"  
  
"Yeah" Hikari admitted with a smile.  
  
"You're like me, I can sleep anywhere" Lucie said. Then she walked over to Yamato's bed.  
  
"And believe me, she has" Sal added while walking after her. One by one, they'd make their way to the bed.  
  
"So, how's Yamato?" Nancy asked.  
  
"Oh well, he's got more color" Hikari answered as she turned to face them. Nancy and Mr. Ishida leaned over the bed to look at him. His pale cheeks had gradually turned more tan.  
  
"He's got some color!" Mr. Ishida pointed out again.  
  
"Yeah" Hikari said in a daze. "Well I-I have to go. It was great to see you guys again."  
  
"Tell her" Nancy nagged Mr. Ishida. In a whisper. Mr. Ishida took a couple steps forward, closer to Hikari.  
  
"We didn't get to celebrate Christmas so, uh, it would be nice if you could join us." Mr. Ishida looked sincere in his request, an emotion hardly seen from him.  
  
"Oh, um, oh I-I'd love to, but I can't" Hikari declined. She couldn't celebrate Christmas with people she had lied to and treated so badly.  
  
"Takeru's gonna be there the next morning" Lacey said with a look of excitement in her ocean blue eyes.  
  
"That's right, you haven't met Takeru yet!" Nancy realized.  
  
"No, haven't met him yet" Hikari said.  
  
"Oh, he'll be so glad to meet you!" Nancy tried hard to convince Hikari.  
  
"So, you'll come tonight?" Mr. Ishida asked.  
  
"I-I really shouldn't because I have to work"  
  
"Well here" Mr. Ishida said as he handed Hikari a small business card and a pen. "Put your phone number and address down there. Nancy will call you and talk you into it"  
  
"Ok" Hikari responded.  
  
Mr Ishida held out another card. This one had a chair imprinted on the right along with the business information on the left. "And here's another card for when you changed your mind. We're in the estate furniture business, we buy furniture from dead people.  
  
Hikari turned her head a little to Nancy who had an aghast look on her face. She obviously didn't want Hikari to know that information.  
  
"Ok, well I have it so," Hikari said as she started to leave.  
  
"Bye dear" Nancy said.  
  
"Bye!" Lacey added with a big grin.  
  
  
  
Hikari finally made it out of the crowded room. She was waiting impatiently to go down the elevator. She just wanted to get away from all those nice people she had wronged. Every hour, every minute just made Hikari feel even more guilty.  
  
"Ma'am? Excuse me ma'am" a tall doctor shouted while running down the hall toward Hikari. He had a box filled with a couple items, the most noticeable item was a briefcase.  
  
"What is this?" Hikari asked with an irritated tone.  
  
"I'm sorry Mrs. Ishida, these are you husbands things" the doctor answered.  
  
"He's not my husband" Hikari yelled in an unpleasant way. The doctor stood for a second, dumfounded.  
  
"I'm sorry, your fiancée" he corrected. Then he shoved the box into her arms and ran off again.  
  
"Why me?" she thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator.  
  
"Uh, you're Yamato's fiancée?" a guy asked. Hikari had to stop the elevator doors from closing with her foot.  
  
"Ok," Hikari gave up.  
  
"Nakai Kanzi, colleague of Yamato's at Nakai, Ishida, and Hiura Law Firm."  
  
"I have to go now" Hikari said as she stepped into the elevator.   
  
"He's a great guy" Kanzi started again. Hikari stepped back into her original position. "He's had a tough year, with the accident last month and all."  
  
Hikari readjusted herself. "Accident?"  
  
"Of course it was an accident, it wasn't my fault, did he tell you it was my fault?! We were playing basketball, and I was carrying a pencil, that's what lawyers do."  
  
Hikari stepped out of the elevator and let the doors close. She braced herself for a long, uninteresting story...  
  
  
"So, what's the big deal?" Jerry asked on the crowded streets of Tokyo after hearing Hikari's situation. They made their way past the people to get to their usual hot dog stand.  
  
"What's the big deal?! Jerry, they think I'm they're future daughter-in-law! And his grandmother, she's got this heart problem and if I tell her the truth, she'll have a heart attack, and she'll die and it's going to be on my head" Hikari rambled.  
  
"Well just go along with it" Jerry suggested. "And when Yamato comes out of the coma, they'll be so happy they probably won't care that you lied to them. They might even thank you!"  
  
He hot dog man handed Hikari a hot dog. "Just mustard" a stressed Hikari demanded. The man just rolled his eyes. "Okay, what if he doesn't come out of his coma?"  
  
"Well then who's to know?"  
  
Hikari was losing hope, and Jerry's words weren't helping much. "Look, look, look. When my mother found out I was marrying my wife, her intestines exploded. Now, if you tell them about this now, you might as well shoot Grandma." Hikari buried her head in her arms. She knew this couldn't be good.  
  
  
"Come on Kitty" Hikari yelled as she was fixing her cat's dinner. She was all alone in her apartment, lounging in the kitchen.  
  
"Kitty" she yelled again. She turned her T.V. dinner around so that the chicken would be closer to her.  
  
"What a pathetic way to spend my day" she thought to herself. Then she caught a glimpse of her refrigerator. She saw that business card with the imprinted chair on it.  
  
"Well, they really did want me to come" she reasoned as she dipped her oreo in milk.   
  
  
Hikari found herself in a taxi in suburban Tokyo. She glanced at all the large houses, and the snow that covered their yards. The driveways and sidewalks were perfectly shoveled, leaving no tiny hints of white. And then she came upon a large, white house with many lights and decorations in their yard, trees, and bushes. In fact, it was one of the only houses with their lights on. Hikari assumed this must be their house. The taxi stopped in front of the magical sight. She assumed right.  
  
She stepped out of the taxi and held a beautifully wrapped gift for the family. As she stepped onto the sidewalk, the taxi drove away. She took a few steps up the driveway, which was filled with cars, and stopped to admire their decorations. Then thoughts rushed into her mind. "What am I doing here? I can't do this, it's wrong!" She started to turn right back around because she knew she couldn't pretend to have a family.  
  
"Hikari!" Sal shouted from behind her. She knew there was no turning back now.  
  
"Hi Sal, hi" Hikari greeted with a fake smile.  
  
"You made it!" Sal exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"So, uh, how do you feel?"  
  
"Okay," Hikari wasn't in a talking mood.  
  
"Come on, keep me company for a while. I don't like to smoke in the house." They continued walking toward the house.  
  
"Listen, you want one?" Sal offered.  
  
"No thanks, I'm trying to quit."  
  
Sal chuckled a bit as they sat on the steps in front of the door. Hikari rubbed her arms in an attempt to make them warmer.  
  
"They don't bother you, do they?" Sal asked.  
  
"Oh, no, no, I'm fine."  
  
"Did you know I was Yamato's godfather?" He said randomly.  
  
"Really? I thought you had to be Catholic for that."  
  
"Mr. Ishida convinced the pope. He donated fifty folding chairs to Father Shiba's bingo night." They both smiled at Mr. Ishida's crazy actions. "You know being a godfather is important to Catholics." Sal continued. "It's like practically being a part of the family."  
  
Hikari's head lowered when he mentioned family. "You're lucky. It's important to have family this time of year" she said.  
  
"Aren't your parents with you?"  
  
"No, no. My mom died when I was really young, and my dad got sick a couple years ago so we moved from Odaiba to Tokyo so we could go to the Research Hospital."  
  
"Research? A medical term for very expensive?" Hikari smiled along with Sal.  
  
"Exactly. I had to quit school and I started working for the City Subway System or as we call it CSS, and about a year ago, he decided he had enough and he passed away."  
  
  
Sal's happy expression quickly turned into one of sympathy. "My wife of fifty-one years passed away two years ago, February 9. Yeah it was a rough time for me, but Mr. Ishida got me through it."  
  
"Is he a friend?"  
  
"Oh, my best. Hikari, the Ishida-Takaishi's took me in as part of their family. I'd never let anyone hurt them." Sal wondered if he should tell Hikari he knew his secret, but he brushed off the thought, knowing that Hikari's already been though too much and this wasn't the time.  
  
"Neither would I" Hikari said. She gt this weird burning pain in her stomach.  
  
"I believe you wouldn't."  
  
The door of the magical house swung open. Hikari jumped to her feet in surprise. She faced Nancy who had a crimson blouse and a black ankle length skirt on. She wore a black and white checked apron on her waist.  
  
"Hikari? You came?!" Nancy squealed with delight. "Hi Sal, oh this is great! Hey come on in, its freezing out here" Nancy made her way to the door. "Lucie made her eggnog," she said over her shoulder.  
  
"Word of the wise, drink slowly" Sal advised. Hikari laughed as he got up.  
  
"Come on you guys, look who's here! Hikari came!" Nancy shouted in the house. Lacey ran up to Hikari, and gave her a hug in her white hooded sweater and plaid skirt. Lucie stayed with Mr. Ishida because she didn't want to get her white dress messed up. The two greeted everyone as they entered the house.  
  
  
"That's Yamato on the right" Lacey pointed out while looking through his memory book.  
  
"That's sweet" Hikari said while sitting next to her.  
  
Lacey turned the cream colored page. On the left was a torn out yearbook page with his third grade class on it. To the right, it had a newspaper article with the headline "Local Boy Saves Squirrel", and the article also had a picture of Yamato when he was about the age of eight or nine.  
  
"Oh, there's the squirrel thing," Lacey laughed.  
  
"Eggnog everyone" Nancy said as she walked into the living room with a tray of empty glasses and a pitcher. She made a frightened looking face for a second when she said eggnog. "Ma, where are you? I'm serving your eggnog."  
  
"I'm getting my camera" Lucie shouted from another room. Hikari smiled at their relationship.  
  
"Come on everybody, get close to the tree" Lucie commanded sweetly.  
  
"Ooh, pictures" an excited Nancy said. Everyone except for Hikari got into a cluster.  
  
"Hikari, come on" Lucie nagged. Soon the whole family started nagging her.  
  
"I can't"  
  
Lacy pulled her up from the sofa, and positioned her to be in the middle of the picture.  
  
"Watch the birdie" Lucie said before she took the picture.  
  
"Oh, Ma, take it again. I blinked" Nancy said.  
  
  
A few minutes later, they all sat on the furniture in the living room, telling stories about Yamato in the past. Sal poured himself a glass of wine while the storytelling was going on.  
  
"Want some?" Sal offered Lucie.  
  
"I don't drink anymore" she said with a smile.  
  
"Ooh," Sal replied and put the bottle back on the table.  
  
Lucie held out her glass. "I don't drink any less, either"  
  
Everyone laughed at Lucie's antics. Hikari really wished she was engaged to Yamato, she loved his family. She took a sip of Lucie's eggnog, and made a face similar to Nancy's when anyone mentioned eggnog. "It sure has a kick," she thought as she tried her hardest to swallow it.  
  
  
The night continued on, and they all opened their presents and all got looks of joy. Hikari even got a gift from the family. Hikari forgot about the joy of Christmas so many years ago, but it was all coming back to her.  
  
  
Meanwhile, at Yamato's sleek apartment, the phone had been ringing off the hook. All sorts of people called, wondering where Yamato was or if he's okay. He was up to thirty-seven messages on his answering machine.  
  
"This is Ishida. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you. Ciao" His machine let out a large beep. "Hi, it's Ashley. The Alps are absolutely gorgeous, but I'm cutting my trip short because I've been doing a lot of thinking, and oh what the hell. I will marry you!" Beep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dun, dun, dun . . . next chapter=TAKARI! Well, only if you press that pretty Lil button down there! 


	6. Takeru, Ice, and Confusion

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the overdue Takari chapter. Last week our power went out, so I couldn't post it then. It's freezing rain here. WOO no school, but the downside is that if we miss one more day of school we'll have to make it up in spring break. Ok, the story. Warning, my spell check/grammar program went on the fritz, so I might not be gramatically correct in this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: *cough* Toei stole it from me!  
  
  
  
It was 3:30 in the morning. Everyone in the house was asleep because the joyful night before had tired them out. Hikari was among them, she had been offered too much champagne and was unable to drive home. She slept peacefully on the couch.  
  
Hikari was awakened by the slamming of the door. Too tired to find out what the sound was, Hikari rolled over to face the couch.  
  
"Takeru!" Lacey exclaimed. She was wide awake and in her flannel pajamas. "Hey!" It sounded like Lacey was jumping at one point, but Hikari couldn't tell by just listening.  
  
"Don't wake Hikari" Lacey said.  
  
"Hikari?" Takeru asked as he leaned against the doorway to face the sleeping angel. "Who's Hikari?"  
  
"Hikari is Yamato's fiancé" Lacey answered.  
  
"No," Takeru said in disbelief as he looked closer. He didn't think she was Yamato's type, after seeing the back of her head. "That's not Yamato's fiancé."  
  
"You haven't met her?" Lacey asked in astonishment.  
  
"No" Takeru replied.  
  
"Well she's great. You're gonna love her."  
  
Hikari just lied awake, not exactly sure of what just happened.  
  
"You know what kid, maybe I'll stay."  
  
"You will?" Lacey's eyes widened. "Don't eat my cereal in the morning."  
  
"Oh yeah, it's a very special cereal" Takeru said sarcastically as they walked up the stairs.  
  
"Last time you took the toy surprise" she complained. Hikari tried to fall asleep once more.  
  
  
  
  
Hikari awoke again. This time, the sun was shining, and the whole house lit up. She got off the comfortable, lumpy couch and grabbed her coat, purse, and the towels that the family had gotten her for Christmas. She looked around once more to see if she left anything and then slowly tiptoed out to the door. She was reaching for the doorknob when . . .   
  
"Good Morning"  
  
Hikari jumped and quickly turned around. She found Takeru sitting on the steps drinking a cup of coffee and half reading a newspaper.  
  
"Oh, you scared me" Hikari gasped.  
  
"Sorry" Takeru apologized.  
  
"Good Morning Takeru" she greeted, remembering his voice from earlier that day.  
  
"Um, I guess I don't remember meeting you" Takeru recalled. He put his newspaper down.  
  
"I guess that's because we've never met" Hikari said in an almost ditzy way.   
  
"That's probably it." The two just looked at each other. Hikari was attracted at one point, but she quickly dismissed the thought.  
  
Beep! Beep!  
  
"Ooh, cab. I have to go because I'm really late, but I have to . . . go. It was nice meeting you, Takeru." And with that, she turned around and opened the door.  
  
Takeru stood up and walked down the rest of the stairs. "Hikari,"  
  
"Ok, I know that, um" Hikari stared down.  
  
"Hey" he said. She looked into his ocean blue eyes. They were just like his brother's. "Welcome to the family."  
  
"Thank you" she continued her way out the door.  
  
It hit Takeru. Hikari had no ring on her finger.  
  
  
  
"We pray that the lord's healing presence will be felt by those who are sick and by their families" the pope* said in a beautiful cathedral. "Especially Ota Tomohiro, Ishida Yamato, and Tanaka Fumiaki. We pray to the Lord."  
  
"Lord hear our prayer" the congregation said all together. Then they took a seat on the benches.  
  
"So, who's this 'Hikari'?" Takeru asked. He didn't care at this point if he was talking while the pope droned on.  
  
"She's your brother's fiancé" Mr. Ishida* answered.  
  
"You know if Yamato were getting married, he would've announced it in the newspaper." Takeru said.  
  
"Maybe he announced it over the radio" Mr. Ishida suggested.  
  
"Amen" the congregation said.   
  
"So why did Hikari sneak out this morning?" Takeru wondered.  
  
"She has a job," Mr. Ishida replied.  
  
"I like mass better in Latin. It's better if you don't know what they're saying" Lucie randomly stated. Nancy* just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Did you get Hozumi's?" Mr. Ishida asked. He was obviously wondering about his business.  
  
"Got it" Takeru replied.  
  
"What about Okada's?"  
  
"Got it" he repeated.  
  
"Yamamoto's?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Did you get Tamura's?"  
  
Takeru sighed. "Yamamoto's took too long."  
  
"For Christ's sake Takeru!"  
  
"Stop swearing" Nancy said as the congregation stood up once again.  
  
"You're running the business now." Mr. Ishida said, irritated.  
  
"That's something I'd like to talk to you about-"  
  
"Talk about it later" Nancy commanded.  
  
"Talk about it now, he can't kill you in church" Lacey said.  
  
"Will you please pipe down?" a man said behind them.  
  
"Hey be nice pal, we're in church" Mr. Ishida argued back.  
  
"You're disrupting the mass" the man complained.  
  
"Who made you the pope?"  
  
Nancy glared at her ex-husband. She couldn't believe how rude he was.  
  
"How did Yamazaki Keiko get elected? She takes marijuana." Lucie asked, randomly.  
  
"Amen" the congregation said together.  
  
  
  
Hikari sat on her bed alone that Sunday afternoon. Her hair was up in a sloppy ponytail, with strands of chestnut hair flying around, loosely. She was dressed in comfortable jeans and a light blue oversized sweatshirt.  
  
She rummaged through the box the hospital gave her with Yamato's items in it just to find out who he is. When she spotted a brown paper bag, she turned it upside down so that all of its items would fall out. She picked up a black leather wallet, and as she opened it she smiled. There were at least a dozen credit cards one side, and twice as many pictures on the other.  
  
She flipped through pictures of him when he was young, then pictures of him at his current age. She came across a family picture. It must have been taken years ago. She saw Mr. Ishida with his arms wrapped around Nancy, Sal, Lucie, Yamato, and...Takeru. Her smile grew bigger when she saw Takeru for some strange, unexplained reason.  
  
She set the wallet down, and noticed there was something else in the bag. Curious, Hikari dumped it out. It was a can of cat food. She picked up the can, and was confused. What would he be doing with cat food? And it hit her- he had a cat that hadn't been fed for days! She quickly changed her shirt and grabbed his and her keys and rushed out the door.  
  
"Hi Hikari!" Two little girls shouted as she walked out the door. Hikari flashed them a smile and kept walking. She noticed Joe Jr. in the street, trying to fix a car. She put her hand on the side of her face that Joe Jr. could see and speed walked. Luckily, he didn't notice her.  
  
"Come on you stupid piece of junk" Joe Jr. yelled as he banged the car with his hand. He shook his hand in pain after he did that, not realizing the car was made out of metal.   
  
An old red truck pulled up behind him, and Takeru stepped out of it. Takeru slowly walked up to Joe Jr.  
  
"Excuse me," Takeru said politely. "Do you live here?"  
  
"Live here? I own the place" Joe Jr. lied so he could impress the total stranger.  
  
"Great! Then you would know the woman in 206."  
  
"Know her?" Joe Jr. pulled up his pants in an attempt to look sexy. "I'm dating her."  
  
Takeru nodded. He was confused.   
  
  
  
Hikari entered the noisy apartment building's lobby. She wondered how Yamato could stand it. Hikari managed to slip in, unnoticed, and quickly dashed to the elevator. The building was large so she had trouble finding room 322*. When she finally stepped in his apartment, she thought it was lovely. A window surrounded the large living room, giving a gorgeous view of Tokyo. He had a perfectly white colored carpet and black furniture. This was a luxurious apartment, the type that Hikari can only dream of.  
  
"Hmm" Hikari thought out loud. "Very clean."  
  
"Kitty" Hikari said gently. She walked to see if the cat was on the other side of the apartment. Hikari started whistling. "Come here, meal time."  
  
As Hikari searched for the cat, Takeru walked in the apartment, since Hikari accidentally left the door unlocked.  
  
"Kitty" Hikari said as she walked in the black-and-white kitchen. "Food!" She wondered if the cat was dead.  
  
"Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!" Hikari walked to the door with the cat food. She opened the door and heard a loud bang.  
  
"OW!" Takeru yelled.  
  
"Oh!" Hikari covered her mouth. She opened the door again and saw Takeru with his hand over his head.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hikari apologized.  
  
"Nice shot," Takeru joked.  
  
Hikari ran to the counter and sat the cat food on it. "I'll get you some ice" she said as she ran to the refrigerator. She opened the freezer portion, and quickly scanned it. She saw many ice cream boxes, there had to be at least eight in there alone. She found the ice and grabbed a handful with her bare hands. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting anybody." She searched the freezer to find more ice.   
  
"How did you get in here? Takeru asked. Hikari turned toward him and held out the ice.  
  
"Key."  
  
"Key, huh. You stay here a lot?" Takeru took the ice from Hikari's now cold hands.  
  
"Oh you know, feed the cat."  
  
"Yamato doesn't have a cat" Takeru replied.  
  
"Oh god" Hikari thought. Then they heard a little squeaky sound. A cat emerged from behind the wall.  
  
"Aw" Hikari said as she walked to the cat. Takeru was more befuddled than ever.  
  
"Hello honey" Hikari exclaimed in a baby voice. She knew she had to make up a name for the cat. "Hey Fluffy. You must be so hungry." She sat the grey, overweight cat on the counter and the phone started ringing.  
  
"Are you gonna get that?" Takeru asked.  
  
"Oh, no. I'll let the machine get it" Hikari answered as she pet the cat  
  
Takeru couldn't stand the ringing sound any longer. "Hello?" he said after he picked up the black phone. "It's for you," he said a couple seconds later.   
  
Hikari was surprised. She walked a few steps and Takeru handed her the phone. "Weird" she thought, and put the phone to her ear.  
  
"Hello?...ok...buh-bye" she put the phone back on the hook and turned toward Takeru.  
  
"Um, that was the hospital. They said it's a custom for friends and family of the patient to come down and give blood."  
  
Takeru nodded. "Let's go together." he suggested.  
  
Hikari liked the thought of going anywhere with Takeru. Could it be that she had feelings for him? It couldn't be, she couldn't possibly have feelings for Takeru, right?  
  
  
  
  
  
* - What is Mr. Ishida's name?   
  
* - Is Nancy's Japanese name Natsuko?   
  
* - Hikari had Yamato's keys and room number because of the brown paper bag, my editor asked me that. And now, that editor's leaving me so if anybody could email me if they want to proofread my stories, that would be appreciated.  
  
  
  
  
  
Review and my Fairy Godmother will magically make me happy! 


	7. Sneaking Around

Hey long time no update. I've been really busy. Since I haven't updated in years, I made this chapter kind of long too. Also, my editor didn't edit this before I posted because I'm impatient. ENJOY!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm a broke teenager who happens to own a multi-million dollar franchise known as Digimon. Get real.  
  
  
Hikari and Takeru stepped in the large parking garage. She just looked around for a second, lost. There were hundreds of cars, trucks, SUV's, more than half of them of a black color.  
  
"You know what, maybe we should take your truck," she suggested and cracked a weak grin.  
  
"Oh no, we should take Yamato's car," Takeru grinned back.  
  
"Oh, ok" Hikari hesitated.  
  
"You know where it's parked, don't you?" Takeru asked.  
  
"Oh yeah" Hikari lied as she took the keys out of her pocket and turned to her left. She pressed the tiny unlock button. Two lights flashed right in front of her. "Baka*, it was right there" she thought to herself.  
  
"Hmmm." Takeru grunted.  
  
"Hmmm." Hikari grunted. After their lack of words, they walked up to the car.  
  
  
  
"Hey, we'll have to get your picture for the mantel" Takeru said as he was lying on the bed. The nurse rolled up his sleeves as she prepared to draw blood.  
  
"A picture of-of me? Nani?*" Hikari asked while sitting on a bed 3 feet away from his.  
  
"No, of you and Yamato."  
  
"I'm not that photogenic," Hikari said, remembering her non-existent photo of her and Yamato. She swung her legs around off the bed.  
  
"I doubt that," Takeru commented, suspiciously.  
  
"Ok now I want you to sip this or else you'll get woozy." The nurse said as he handed Hikari a cup. She was short with pinned up hair and had all sorts of mismatched clothes on.  
  
"When did you start seeing Yamato?" Takeru asked.  
  
"September 17." Hikari lied. It came off the top of her head because that used to be her okaasan's birthday*. She took a sip of the stuff the nurse gave her and cringed at its horrible taste.  
  
"3 months, that's quick," Takeru commented.  
  
"You have no idea," Hikari took another sip and set the cup on a nearby table.  
  
"That's fast, that-" Hikari walked away before Takeru could finish.  
  
"Miss!" the nurse shouted.  
  
"I'm fine" Hikari said back.  
  
"I'm not finished with you!" The elderly nurse yelled.  
  
"Don't worry" Takeru said as he stood up. "I got her." He grabbed his coat and walked a few steps, and then fainted.   
  
"Bakayaro,"* the nurse said. "He got woozy."  
  
  
  
  
"What the hell does he have a T.V for?" Mr. Ishida started. "He's in a coma for Christ's sake." The whole family sat in the hospital room, watching over Yamato like guardian angels. Mr. Ishida separated himself from the family since Nancy was there, so he sat on the other side of the room with Sal.  
  
"Malcom,* shh. He might hear you, ya know." Nancy reasoned.  
  
"Then get him a radio," he snapped back.  
  
"Maybe he'd like us to sing to him!" Nancy said cheerfully as Hikari and Takeru entered the room.  
  
"Maybe Hikari knows his favorite song." Malcom wondered.  
  
"Puff the Magic..." Nancy started.  
  
"Dragon." Hikari said in unison with Nancy.  
  
"It's Dragon" Hikari said to Takeru because he asked her that question in the hall.  
  
Sal looked at Hikari and smiled, surprised that she knew Yamato's favorite song.  
  
"Where is Yamato's dream vacation?" Takeru questioned.  
  
"T-The Bahamas" she guessed, knowing that was Mimi's dream vacation.  
  
"Hah!" Takeru shouted. "Everybody wants to go there."  
  
"Favorite food?" He asked.  
  
"Ice cream." She said, remembering his freezer from earlier that day.  
  
"Favorite baseball team?"  
  
"T-Tokyo" she guessed.  
  
"Minor or Major Leagues?*"  
  
"What the heck is going on?" Malcom asked, loudly.  
  
"Why are you asking her all these questions" Nancy asked as she stood up.  
  
"Don't ask me, ask her boyfriend." Takeru said. Hikari looked at Takeru with confused, ruby eyes.  
  
"That isn't very funny, you know." Nancy said while pointing to Yamato's unconscious body.  
  
"No, not this boyfriend. Joe Tanaka."  
  
Hikari chuckled. "Joe Jr.?"  
  
"Hai, that's right.* Mr. Joe Tanaka Jr. He said that you were intimate."   
  
"Yeah, well he also said he invented aluminum foil, he's delusional." Hikari defended.  
  
"He seemed very truthful when I talked to him," Takeru said.  
  
"Oh dear" Lucie started. She grabbed her own chest.  
  
"Ma, are you okay?" Nancy asked.  
  
Malcom walked over to Lucie. "You see what you did?" He said to Takeru.  
  
"Well if she wanted to prove it, she'd prove it" Lucie challenged. The whole family turned to face the brunette.  
  
"Y-Yamato has one testicle." She said remembering the story the lawyer told her.  
  
Everyone started turning his or her heads. "Nani? No way." Takeru said.  
  
"Way. About a month ago, there was an accident, and he was playing basketball and his friend had a pencil in his back pocket."  
  
"Ewww," Lacey cringed. The whole family started cringing after her.  
  
"Maybe, um" Takeru hinted. He started looking at his dad and Malcom looked at Nancy.  
  
"Well somebody's got to look" Malcom encouraged.  
  
"Don't look at me" Lacey said, and then stepped away from the hospital bed.  
  
"Well it's not my, uh" Lucie said.  
  
"Ok" Nancy said. "I'm his mother."  
  
"Ew, mom" Lacey said in disgust.  
  
Nancy pulled up the covers and lowered her head. Her eyes widened.  
  
  
  
The elevator doors finally opened. In it was a tall doctor accompanied with by brunette lady. Sal, Lacey, Nancy, Malcom, Lucie, and Takeru all stepped in, making the tiny elevator crowded.  
  
"Well look on the bright side," Lucie said. "He's got more room in his boxer shorts."  
  
"Okaasan..." Nancy said.  
  
  
  
Hikari walked into the room labeled 206. She shut the wooden door behind her. She walked up to the nearby closet and banged her head on it once (on purpose). She was about to do serious thinking about this mess she was in when she heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Who is it?" She asked.  
  
"What gives?" an accented voice from the other side of the door said. It was Joe Jr. Hikari walked a couple of steps and swung it open.  
  
"You stood me up" Joe Jr. said as he walked into her apartment.  
  
"For what?" Hikari grunted.  
  
"For a date." He replied.  
  
"What date?" she argued.  
  
"To the ice capades! I had to sell your ticket!"  
  
"I never said I would go on a date with you!"  
  
Joe Jr.'s jaw dropped. "Yes you did."  
  
"No I didn't."  
  
"Yes you did."  
  
"No I didn't"  
  
"Did too."  
  
"Didn't."  
  
"Did!"  
  
"Didn't!"  
  
They both heard three loud knocks that interrupted their childish argument.  
  
"Who is it?" Hikari shouted.  
  
"Hikari, it's Sal"  
  
"Oh my god" she whispered. She started pushing Joe Jr. back.  
  
"What, are you two-timing Joe Jr.?" he asked.  
  
"I'm not two-timing, I never one-timed." Hikari opened the closet.  
  
"Hey I'll fight the guy," Joe Jr. said in an act to impress her. He walked towards the door.  
  
"Hey!" she said while she grabbed his arm. "Get in the closet." She led his body to the closet and placed himself inside of it.  
  
"Not a word" she instructed.  
  
"Nice panties" he said as he flung the cotton underwear out. Hikari swiped them from his hand and slammed the closet door. Then Hikari marched up to her front door to greet Sal.  
  
"I like boxer shorts, but I'll try these" Sal joked. Hikari noticed she was holding her own panties and quickly shoved them in her coat pocket.  
  
"Gomen," she said softly*.  
  
"Did you have any company?" he asked after hearing voices outside.  
  
"Oh, no the T.V...was on...next door" she lied. Sal nodded.  
  
"Come in" she invited and Sal took a couple steps to get inside her house. "Do you want some coffee or tea or something?" she offered.  
  
"No, no. Not a thing," he declined. "Hikari there's something you should know."  
  
"What?" she asked, nervously.  
  
"Well the night you visited Yamato, I was outside the door. I know the truth."  
  
Hikari sighed. She knew she was in deep now. She sat down on her couch.  
  
"Sorry Sal, you know don't worry because I'm going to tell them everything."  
  
"Don't tell them a thing." Sal instructed.  
  
Hikari looked up with a puzzled look on her face. Sal approached her and sat down on the sofa.  
  
"Remember the day you said you'd never hurt the family?" he asked.  
  
"Hai," she said.  
  
"Well since they have you, they figure they have Yamato back. If you tell them the truth, you'll take him away again. They need you Hikari, just like you need them. Look, I know you're a good girl,"  
  
Hikari beamed.  
  
"and I know you'll do the right thing" Sal stood up. "Yes, you will." He walked toward the door. "Oh, by the way, how did you know about Yamato and the one, uh..." Hikari shook her head.   
  
"You know something? I don't want to know."  
  
"Jaa, mata" she said before he closed the door.*  
  
Thud.  
  
Hikari walked over to the closet to see what the loud sound was. She opened the door to find Joe Jr. on the floor with a shoe in one hand.  
  
"What are you doing?" she yelled.  
  
"I slipped!" he answered.  
  
"You're trying on my shoes?!" she asked, irritated.  
  
"No, when I fell I went like," he curved his hand "that and fell into the shoe."  
  
Knock.  
  
Hikari walked away from the closet and Joe Jr. "Who is it?" she asked, almost in tears.  
  
"It's me, Takaishi Takeru." He said.  
  
"My God, doesn't anybody use the phone anymore?" she asked to no one in particular.  
  
"I do" Joe Jr. said behind her. He had walked out of the closet.  
  
"I'm not talking about 900 numbers." She said.  
  
"Who told?!" he yelled as Hikari pushed him back in the closet. She slammed the door and walked to her door for the 3rd time that night.  
  
"Hi" Hikari greeted. "So more questions?"  
  
"No," he said with a grin. "It's an engagement present."  
  
"Oh, you shouldn't have,"  
  
"I didn't, it's from my parents."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"It's furniture, want me to bring it up? Oh, was that Sal I saw leaving?"  
  
Tumble. Crash. Thud.  
  
"What was that?" Takeru asked.  
  
"Cat..."  
  
"That's a big cat,"  
  
"You know, I think you should bring it to Yamato's apartment." She suggested.  
  
"You don't know what it is," he said.  
  
"You know, anything would look nicer in Yamato's apartment." Hikari smiled.  
  
Tumble.  
  
"You know what, I'll come with you." She said and she closed the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Japanese Lesson  
  
*Baka means stupid in Japanese.  
  
*Nani means what (used in disbelief) in Japanese.   
  
*Bakayaro means damn fool.  
  
*Hai means yes.  
  
*Gomen means sorry.  
  
*Jaa mata means goodbye  
  
  
Notes/Questions  
  
*Someone told me Malcom was Mr. Ishida's name. Somebody else told me Ken. I said Malcom cause Ken was already used in the show. I don't know whether they are right or not but the show really doesn't say what his name is so I honestly don't have a clue.  
  
*I really don't know if they play baseball in Japan, but the question went along with the story. 


End file.
